Ryanair Ltd. (ISEQ: RYA, LSE: RYA, NASDAQ: RYAAY) is an Irish low-cost airline. Its headquarters is located on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland, with its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airports.
Ryanair operates over 300 Boeing 737–800 aircraft. The airline has been characterised by rapid expansion, a result of the deregulation of the aviation industry in Europe in 1997 and the success of its low-cost business model.

Since its establishment in 1984, Ryanair has grown from a small airline flying the short journey from Waterford to London into one of Europe's largest carriers. Ryanair now employs over 8,500 members of staff (as of 2012) including over 1,200 pilots. After the rapidly growing airline went public in 1997, the money raised was used to expand the airline into a pan-European carrier. Revenues have risen from €231 million in 1998, to €1,843 million in 2003 and €3,013 million in 2010. Similarly net profits have increased from €48 million to €339 million over the same period.